A story is told of a man who attended a seminar focused on interpersonal relationships and decided to start showing appreciation to people and everyone around him but would first start with his family.
So on his way home, he decided to buy some rose flowers for his wife as a way of appreciating her. Getting to the door, he rang the bell and waited to see the look of surprise on her face as he hands the flowers to her.
She opened the door but to his amazement, she started crying. Confused, he asked "What's the matter honey?
She replied "Oh, it's been a terrible day. First Tommy tried to flush stuffed animal down the toilet, then the dishwasher quit working, Sally came home from school sick, and now...now you came home drunk." Your guess is as good as mine at the man's reaction .
It simply shows how strange the man's actions are in trying to be appreciative of his wife probably because he never or hardly acknowledges all her efforts in keeping the family.
The exhausted wife who hasn't recovered from all the troubles of the day was terrified to see one more added from a husband who was suppose to come help ease her from all the troubles.
How often do we appreciate our loved ones and people around us for every kind gesture irrespective of how little or insignificant it may seem to us?
We have become so used to the I don't care and taking things for granted attitude that we fail to see and appreciate every little act of kindness shown to us.
How then can we see the things God does for us daily when we even fail to see what those around us do for us?
The Bible says "Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits, even the God of our salvation." (Psalm 68:19)
But we don't see these benefits because we are expecting one big breakthrough or miracle from God before we see the things he does for us daily.
Unfortunately, we apply this same attitude to people around us. Until something huge is done for us by the people around us then every other deed holds no value.
We also take people for granted because we feel it is their responsibility to do the things they do for us or probably they can never do without us so they ought to do these things.
A husband feels it is the responsibility of the wife to take care of the home - cook the meals, take care of the kids and aso take care of his needs.
The wife feels it is the husband's duty to provide for the home - foot the bills, provide the basic needs of every member of the family such as housing, clothing and feeding.
Children feel it is the responsibility of the parents to provide for their every need - pay for their education, cloth them, feed them and give them pocket money from time to time for their upkeep.
Yes, we may all have responsibilities to play in the lives of everyone around us but do we stop for once to appreciate the efforts these people put in place to put smiles on our faces?
Not everyone who is aware of his her responsibilities live up to them so we must learn to appreciate the ones who do even if we feel it's their responsibility to do what they do for us.
When you fail to appreciate people around you, then you would never value them for who they are and what they do how much more adding values to their lives.
It is those you appreciate you will strive to add values to their lives. Every relationship runs a two way street but this only becomes possible when we learn to appreciate people else we would be leaving in a one way street relationships.
Sometimes, it is the gifts given to us by others that we perceive to be insignificant and then take for granted. Other times, it is our jobs and even the gift of life we take for granted. When we appreciate these things, we would add value to them.
These two simple words such as Thank You whether spoken by you or to you goes a long way to cause positive effects in our lives.
These words can cause a dramatic changes in the life of the one who said it and in the life of the one to whom it was said. Both persons feel joy and happiness from the inside.
According to psychologists, the one to whom gratitude is shown is encouraged to want to do more, he sleeps better, experiences positive emotions and is more compassionate and kind towards others.
Then the one who says thank you has a more positive outlook in life, have improved relationships, more resilient in life, has lower blood pressure, healthier hearts, improved immunity and better mental health.
Being appreciative always helps us focus on the positives than the negatives and when we do this, we have more improved relationships, weight of problems are minimized and our outlook in life generally becomes better.
According Williams James, a Psychologist and Philosopher "The deepest principle of human nature is a craving to be appreciated."
We all want and need to feel appreciated. If you always feel the need to be appreciated then also show appreciation to those around you just like the saying goes, "do to others like you would like them do to you."
If we all apply this rule, the world would not only be a better place but we would all live a healthier and a happier life.
Happy people are those who recognize appreciations and those who are appreciative of every little kindness shown to them.
We don't have to almost lose something or someone before we appreciate them. And we don't have to wait till someone else sees the value of a thing or person in our lives before we value them.
The things and people we take for granted most often are the things and kind of people others are praying for to have.
Quote for the day "Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others." - Ciero, Roman orator.
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